Adam Bergman, Founder of IRA Financial, shares his view on why digital assets are moving from the margins of retirement investing toward the mainstream. As investors look beyond traditional stocks and bonds, Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins, and other digital assets are becoming part of a broader conversation about long-term savings, diversification, and tax efficiency.
Bergman explains how crypto can be held through self-directed IRAs, Roth IRAs, and Solo 401(k)s, what investors need to know about compliance and custody, and why he believes digital assets could play a meaningful role in the future of retirement planning. Read more on this and other key issues in his interview with CP Media.
Digital Assets as a Long-Term Retirement Opportunity
When did you first recognize that digital assets could become a meaningful part of a retirement savings strategy?
I recognized it back in 2015. IRA Financial was one of the first companies to allow investors to use retirement funds to buy crypto, and I personally started buying Bitcoin in my Roth IRA that same year.
At the time, my financial adviser told me I was making a big mistake and that Bitcoin was a scam. Thankfully, I didn’t listen.
For me, the key point was the IRS guidance from 2014, which treated digital assets like Bitcoin as property. As a tax lawyer, that was very important. It meant I could look at digital assets from a tax-efficiency perspective and understand how they could fit into a retirement account.
The logic was simple: retirement accounts are long-term vehicles. You usually invest for 20, 30, or 40 years, and you don’t need immediate liquidity. So if there is an emerging asset with major upside potential, a retirement account can be a very powerful place to hold it.
What role can digital assets play in the long-term retirement portfolios of investors using self-directed IRAs or Solo 401(k)s?
Digital assets can play an enormous role in long-term retirement portfolios.
Bitcoin is still a very young asset compared with equities, which have been around for more than a hundred years. I’m not a computer scientist or blockchain engineer, but I understood the potential. I saw that finance was going to change, and I wanted exposure to assets that could have long-term value.
Retirement accounts are especially well suited for this because you generally cannot touch the money until you are around 59 and a half without taxes or penalties. That gives you a long investment horizon.
Too many investors are focused only on stocks, especially the S&P 500. But even the S&P 500 is heavily driven by a small number of companies. If there is a correction or a bubble bursts, many people are not as diversified as they think.
That is why alternative assets matter. Digital assets, real estate, private stock, gold — these can all help create more diversified retirement portfolios. With crypto specifically, the real value may not be today; it may be where the asset class goes over the next 20, 30, 40, or 50 years.
What are the most common misconceptions about holding Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other digital assets in retirement accounts?
The biggest misconception is that people think they cannot do it.
Most people still don’t know they can buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other digital assets in a retirement account. For years, large financial institutions trained investors to believe retirement accounts were only for stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and fixed income. That was mainly because those were the products those institutions sold.
But with a self-directed IRA or Solo 401(k), investors can access alternative assets, including digital assets.
Another misconception is that crypto is too strange or too risky to belong in a retirement account. But that perception is changing. Governments are looking at digital assets, Bitcoin ETFs exist, and the asset class is becoming more familiar to mainstream investors.
For me, every American should have some exposure to Bitcoin or Ethereum in a Roth IRA — even if it is a small amount. The size of the allocation depends on the person, but having no exposure means missing out on an important part of diversification.
Compliance, Regulation, and Tax Advantages
What compliance mistakes do investors most often make when trying to include digital assets in retirement accounts?
The biggest compliance issue is custody.
In a retirement account, you generally cannot personally hold the digital assets in your own wallet, on a Ledger, on a Nano, or in your home. The assets need to be held properly through a platform or custodian.
There is an important Tax Court case, McNulty v. Commissioner, from 2021. It was about gold coins, not crypto, but the principle is relevant. The taxpayers personally held IRA-owned gold coins instead of keeping them at an approved depository, and the court ruled against them.
The industry view is that IRA assets, including digital assets, should not be in personal possession. That is why crypto in a retirement account should generally be held on a proper platform.
That is the main drawback compared with holding crypto personally. You may not have the same direct self-custody, but you get the tax advantages and the retirement-account structure.
What has changed with the GENIUS Act and recent regulatory developments when it comes to retirement-account crypto investing?
From a retirement-account perspective, not much has changed. That is actually the beauty of it.
The framework is still very clean and simple. Digital assets are treated as property, and if you are investing through a retirement account, the basic tax and compliance logic remains the same.
The situation becomes more complicated when you move outside retirement accounts — for example, into DeFi or direct personal crypto activity. But inside a properly structured retirement account, the compliance landscape is much cleaner.
From a tax perspective, how does investing in digital assets through a retirement account differ from buying crypto through a standard exchange account?
There is a major difference.
If you buy crypto through a standard exchange account, you have to think about taxes every time you sell or trade. You need to track basis, holding periods, short-term gains, long-term gains, and reporting obligations.
Inside a retirement account, it is much cleaner. You do not have to worry about short-term or long-term capital gains inside the account. You do not have to track every taxable trade in the same way.
There are different types of retirement accounts. A traditional IRA or 401(k) is generally pre-tax. You may get a deduction when money goes in, but when you take money out after retirement age, you pay income tax.
A Roth IRA is the opposite. You do not get a deduction when you contribute, but if you are over 59 and a half and the Roth has been open for at least five years, qualified withdrawals can be tax-free.
That is why I believe the Roth IRA is so powerful for Bitcoin and other digital assets. If the asset grows significantly over time, the gains can potentially be withdrawn tax-free. For long-term holders, that can be extremely valuable.
Can investors use tax-advantaged accounts beyond IRAs and 401(k)s to get exposure to digital assets?
Yes. In the U.S., investors can use more than just IRAs and 401(k)s.
There are also education accounts and health accounts that can potentially be used to buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in a tax-advantaged way through the right platform.
A lot of this comes down to education. Younger investors understand digital assets, and there are many opportunities for them to save and invest if they know these structures exist.
Risk, Retirement Security, and Investor Behavior
How should investors assess the risk of adding digital assets to retirement savings, where the investment horizon is typically measured in decades?
It comes down to risk versus reward.
I am a tax lawyer, not an investment adviser, but I look at where the world is going over the next 20 or 30 years. I believe the world is becoming more digital, and digital assets will be part of that future.
That does not mean putting 100% of your retirement savings into crypto. Personally, I have around 10% to 15% of my investments in digital assets. For someone else, the right number could be $100, $1,000, or much more. It depends on the person’s financial situation and risk tolerance.
The main investment risk is volatility. Bitcoin can drop 50% or 70%. Investors need to understand that before they invest.
But the upside can also be very large. If you put a certain amount into Bitcoin, you need to ask yourself: how much can I realistically lose, and what is the potential upside over decades?
Retirement accounts are useful here because you do not need the money for everyday expenses. You cannot use it to pay your mortgage or buy groceries without consequences, so you can let the investment sit and be patient.
The key is not to check the price every day. The key is to understand the long-term thesis, size the position appropriately, and be willing to wait.
Amid growing concerns about retirement security in the U.S., can digital assets serve as a meaningful alternative or complement to traditional retirement savings?
Yes, digital assets can be a meaningful complement to traditional retirement savings.
Younger investors, especially Millennials and Gen Z, often understand crypto more naturally than older generations. They are used to digital tools, they have access to more information, and they are more open to alternative assets.
People are better investors when they understand and believe in what they are investing in. Not everyone feels connected to Wall Street. Some people feel more comfortable with assets that make sense to them, whether that is real estate, gold, Bitcoin, or another alternative asset.
Digital assets can make retirement investing more engaging for younger people. They can also give investors another way to diversify and participate in long-term growth.
I am very bullish on the future of retirement savings because younger people have more information, better tools, AI, and access to more asset classes than previous generations. I am also very bullish on the digital asset market over the next decade.
From Retirement Portfolios to Mainstream Adoption
In your view, over the next 5 to 10 years, will digital assets become established as a mainstream asset class for retirement savings, or will they remain a niche alternative investment?
Digital assets are already becoming mainstream.
A few years ago, many people did not believe Bitcoin ETFs would become a reality. Now they exist, and Bitcoin is much more accepted as part of an investment strategy.
Today, if someone says they bought Bitcoin, it does not sound shocking anymore. It is becoming similar to saying you bought Tesla stock or another growth asset. It is part of the conversation.
Technology cannot be stopped. Digital assets will continue to become more integrated into finance, and over the next five to ten years they will become increasingly mainstream in retirement investing.
Beyond investment returns, what real-world use cases make you optimistic about digital assets?
I am very excited about stablecoins, cross-border payments, remittances, and the broader use of digital assets in global finance.
A lot of people in the U.S. think about finance in a very domestic way, but companies and countries do business across borders and across currencies all the time. They need ways to move value more efficiently.
Remittances are a very clear example. If I want to send money internationally through a traditional service, it can be slow and expensive. With Bitcoin or other digital assets, I can send value much faster.
That is one of the reasons I believe digital assets are not just an investment story. They have practical use cases that can help push the whole industry toward mainstream adoption.
What needs to happen for digital assets to become more normalized?
The industry is already moving in that direction, and you cannot stop technology. But for broader normalization, the focus should be on making the platforms safer.
In my view, regulators should not focus only on the coins themselves. People understand that there is a difference between buying Bitcoin and buying a highly speculative meme coin. The bigger issue is where people transact.
That means exchanges need strong guardrails: reserves, insurance, anti-fraud protections, anti-hacking protections, and consumer safeguards. Safety is the key concern for many people.
The industry is already doing a much better job than it did 10 years ago, but stronger platform-level protections would help digital assets become even more trusted and mainstream.
